


Standstill

by HinataSnow



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Confrontations, F/F, spoilers for Three Houses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 22:53:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20496665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HinataSnow/pseuds/HinataSnow
Summary: Of all the people that Bernadetta expected to be the Flame Emperor, the truth was far crueler than she could have expected. But this was something she was not going to run from. This was something neither of them could run from. Spoilers for the Holy Tomb battle.





	Standstill

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I want to write something for this rarepair, because I have a soft spot for it. Go figure that this first fic would end up being angst. But I hope everyone finds this story intriguing. Enjoy!

**Standstill: An Edeldetta one-shot**

Bernadetta could feel her entire world crashing down on her. 

The Flame Emperor was a menacing figure with a trail of atrocities in their wake. Freshest in everyone’s memory being what happened in Remire village. 

Now that culprit was standing before them, and it was none other than Edelgard, the Black Eagles house leader and the person that Bernadetta admired the most. 

The cold, merciless woman leading the imperial army raiding the Holy Tomb was a stark contrast from the Edelgard that was always so patient to Bernadetta. The same Edelgard that made her feel so safe was now saying she was going to kill them. 

  
But Byleth’s instructions were clear- the rest of the Black Eagles were to stop Edelgard, by force if necessary. Bernadetta got her bow ready. If nothing else, she would protect the rest of her classmates. 

* * *

Today was a day a long time coming.    
  
At last, Edelgard’s war with the Church of Seiros was going to begin, starting with the theft of all their precious Crest Stones. This was a path soaked in blood and cloaked in darkness- but she’d come too far to stop.    
  
Her former classmates were cutting a path through her army, which she did expect. A part of Edelgard wished she could have recruited them to her cause, but it was too late. 

  
Then Edelgard saw something that took her by surprise: Bernadetta fighting on the front lines, all her arrows hitting their targets without fail. The small girl spent most of her school days hiding in her own room. So Edelgard half expected for her to flee from this battle.    
  
Obviously Bernadetta had found the courage to fight. Under any other circumstances, Edelgard would have been immensely proud of the other girl. Instead, Edelgard gripped onto her ax as she waited for her former house to reach her. If they were here to stop her, she would give them the fight of their lives.

* * *

  
When the Black Eagles reached the back of the tomb, Byleth gave an order that surprised everyone- for Bernadetta to attack Edelgard first, at a distance. At the surface, it was a smart decision, but there was a question of why Byleth had picked Bernadetta, of all people.    
  
So it was that Bernadetta found herself facing Edelgard, looking right into her eyes. The archer can feel her heart pounding in her chest, but she never loosens the grip on her bow.    
  
“Despite what I said, I have no intention of killing you,” Edelgard finally said. “So why not stand down and get out of my way?” 

“I c-can’t do that,” Bernadetta said, nocking an arrow into her bow. “I’m going to s-stand up for myself, and for my f-friends! Isn’t that what you taught me?”    
  
Then she let her arrow loose, and it struck Edelgard right in the gut. The other girl winced, but otherwise stood on her feet. “If you were going to fire at me, you should have killed me,” Edelgard said. “Now you won’t get another chance!” 

Edelgard raised her ax, and Bernadetta could feel alarm bells blare in her head, and quickly moved- in the next second, lightning crashed down where she had just been standing.

Bernadetta prepared another arrow, and her body suddenly got a burst of strength. Pulling her bow as far back as she could, she fired her second arrow- and it buried itself deep into Edelgard’s right thigh.    
  
Edelgard collapsed on one knee, and it was clear that this battle was over- she couldn’t get back up. Bernadetta pinched herself, unable to believe that she’d managed to win this battle.

“Your marksmanship is much more superior than this, Bernadetta,” Edelgard said, looking up at her. “If you wished it, I would have been dead with your first arrow.” 

  
“Of course I don’t want to kill you, Edelgard! Not after all the time we’ve spent together.” Bernadetta could feel tears form in her eyes. “I’ve learned so much from you! And even now, I can’t help but want to spend more time with you. Away from all this horribleness.”    
  
“You always were too softhearted,” Edelgard said, a bittersweet smile on her face. “But then, I now owe my life to that soft heart of yours.” 

“I could say the same about you,” Bernadetta said. “No enemy that has ever faced you has walked away. But your strike didn’t come anywhere near me! So you really didn’t want to kill me…”    
  
“I’m not sure if I could even lay a hand on you and forgive myself. You are precious to me, Bernadetta,” Edelegard said. For a second, there as intense moment of understanding between them, because the same thought runs through both their minds, unspoken:  _ I care about you far too much.  _

Edelgard bowed her head. “Very well. I surrender myself to Byleth and her army. This victory is yours.”    
  
“Edelgard…” But before Bernadetta could say anymore, Byleth and the rest of her classmates arrived, and Edelgard was taken into their custody. 

  
If this was a victory, it sure didn’t feel like it. Bernadetta had so much she wanted to say, so much more she wanted to ask. Why did Edelgard become the Flame Emperor? Why had she invaded the Holy Tomb? What was going to happen between them now?    
  
But Bernadetta could only stand there, watching as Edelgard was brought before the archbishop. In the end, there was only so much courage she could muster. Whatever happened next, Bernadetta would entrust her fate in them both- in Byleth, and in Edelgard.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is based off of something that actually happened during my run of the Holy Tomb fight. Short version: Bernadetta hit Edelgard once, then Edelgard actually missed hitting her back. With her second shot, Bernadetta actually scored a crit on Edel and defeated her. I knew I had to make a story out of it. I will definitely make more stories with this pair in the future. See you next time! Please review.


End file.
